kienbui1995 Spatial UX
When to Use
When designing the spatial organization of content, navigation, or interaction in a 3D environment.
Core Jobs
1. Spatial Hierarchy
Establish importance through space:
- Proximity: close = relevant, far = background
- Scale: larger = more important (use carefully — very large objects in AR can feel threatening)
- Height: eye level = primary, above = secondary, below = tertiary
- Depth order: foreground vs background as organizational principle
2. Depth Cues for Clarity
Human depth perception cues to leverage:
- Occlusion: objects in front block objects behind (strong depth cue)
- Perspective foreshortening: farther objects appear smaller
- Atmospheric perspective: subtle blur/haze on distant objects
- Drop shadows: helps objects read as floating vs embedded in world
- Motion parallax: objects at different depths move differently with head movement
3. Navigation Design
In spatial environments:
- Teleportation (VR): reduces motion sickness, but loses sense of scale
- Smooth locomotion (VR): immersive, causes sickness for some users — offer both
- Physical movement (AR/MR): user walks naturally — design for walkable spaces
- Waypoints and maps: spatial environments need orientation aids (landmarks, minimap)
4. Environmental Storytelling Through Space
- Use lighting to direct attention (bright = look here)
- Use sound spatially (audio cue from the direction of important events)
- Negative space as breathing room — don't fill every cubic meter
Key Outputs
- Spatial hierarchy diagram
- Depth cue specification
- Navigation design (locomotion approach)
- Environmental UX guidelines
Anti-Patterns
- Flat 2D thinking applied to 3D space (all elements at same Z depth)
- No waypoints in large environments (users get lost)
- Only smooth locomotion in VR (excludes users with motion sensitivity)
- Overloading spatial cues (too many competing visual signals)